Control means for flying machines



May 12, 1953 J. A. M. LECARME vCQNTROL MEANS FOR FLYING MACHINES Fil edFeb. 9, 1949 considerable weight.

Patented May 12 n 1953 oNrrso- OFFICE K- yf affilain'rs.:A (c1. 24a-s6)My invention has for its'objectimprovements inthe contro1 meansvfornyingmachines', more particularly for the actuation ofthe rudders f Theobject ofthe present invention is to improve the comfort'of the pilotand' to providefor complete'zfreedomof` the space-located infront of hisfeet through the 'omission' of 'the yconven` tional rudder barsystem`-To this'purpose, the

`means controlling the control surfaces andthe transmission of movementstheretoy are brought back insidethe pilots seat-and underneath saidseat, the control-members 'replacing the 'rudder bar appearing` asysupportsfor the thigh,A leg and foot of the pilot andjbeing pivotallyarranged-so as to carry" the lower limbsof the pilot throughout theirlength'and in all theirfpossible positions; Said arrangement enables areduction of e'lo'rts that the` pilot may have to exert vand gives himthe possibility of -resting his lower'mlimbs permanently whic/hgiveshima sensation 'of 'comi fort that is of particular interest in modernmachines having ra large lrangeof y operation and a Thefollowingdescription ci an embodiment illustrated in the' accompanyingdrawing'sby way of example and by nomeans' in a limiting sense willindicate readily how .the invention maybe executed'in practice. Insaiddrawings:

Fig. l illustrates `diagrammatically the vjoints of the pilots limbs andthe pivotal connections'of the rsteering control device associatedtherewith according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of an embodiment of a pilots seat providedWith the improvements according to the invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the carrier provided for the cushionunderlying the right hand thigh.

The seat of the pilot having for instance the shape of an armchair, Fig.1 shows the pilot I seated in said armchair in a position correspondingto the mean position of steering control. He leans then against the backrest 2. His feet rest on the foot rests 3 and the axis 4 of his legspasses through the pivotal connections of the foot rests 3 and throughthe joints 5 of his knees and 6 of his hips. i

In the same manner as in a conventional steering control system, whenthe pilot shifts for instance his left foot up to 1, his right footreturns rearwardly up to 8 and conversely. His legs may reach duringsuch movements extreme positions wherein the theoretical axes 4 arelocated in the positions illustrated in the drawings by the interruptedlines 9 and IIJ,

The `part ofthe armchair forming the actual seat includes vtwo lcushionsIl carried by two movable'supports IZpivotally secured at 6 tothestationary frame of the armchair. Each supf port I2 carries'pivotallyon one hand at I5 a link lI 3 adapted to control the rudder and, on vtheother hand,at AEi-'the movable support I4 that carries the cushion I6`forming a support for the leg calf. At its other end, the support I4 ispivotally secured'to the foot rest 3. lWhen the foot is" shifted from Ito 8, the pivot 5 is shifted from 5a to 5b and the pivot I5 from |512 toI5a.

During the above described displacements, the foot rest 3 is guidedingrooves I1 that are illustrated as being horizontal or parallel to thelflooring but they mayas Well be more or lessl slopinglyarrangedtowardsthe front so that the foot sinks when it is urgedforward.

This guiding through slideways as disclosed byway of lexample maybereplaced by any suitable arrangement of levers that allows a fronttorear and rear to frontshifting of the foot along asubstantiallyrectilinear path in a horizontal planeor in aplanesloping slightlyforwardly.

f Itis apparent from the above disclosureof the principle illustrated inFig. 1 that' the space to the front `ofthe feet of the pilot is entirelyfree andathat the pilot benetspermanently by per-` fect comfort byreasonvof the different cushions carryinghis thighsfa'nd legs. .In-Fig .2 is.illustratediriA perspective view a practical embodiment of a pilotingarmchair according to the invention. In said figure, the thigh carryingcushions are shown at I8 and those for the calves at I9. The supports`2li and 2| of the thigh cushions I8 are pivotally secured at 22 and 23to the stationary frame 24 While thev I be made either of wood or metalor any other suitable material.

The supports 20 and 2l are made in this embodiment of folded sheets oflight alloy.

Fig. 3 illustrates the support 20 of the right thigh cushion. Itincludes a sheet of metal 36 folded at` its lower end along 'a straightline 31 so as to form a bottom 38 that is folded in its turn along itsedges to form flanges 39', 40 and 4I enclosing a recess adapted to holdthe cushion for the thigh. The metal sheet 36 is riveted or Welded to amember 42 assuming the shape of an inverted U and bent to match thecurve formed by the upper edge of the metal sheet 36. The pivots 2,2vand 3| ,arel carried by said arcuate member '42. 'y

Two elements 43 and M having a U-shaped cross-section are secured to themetal sheet 36 and form a lever the lower end o-f Which carries thepivot 27 for the link 25 forming'the elevator control. These U-shapedmembers 43 and 44 are connected so as to form a box structure firstly bythe metal sheet 26 and beyond the bottom 38 thereof by a metal sheet 45folded at 90 so as to form a supporting bracket while the surface ofsaid members opposed to that corresponding to the metal sheet 36 isreinforced by a metal sheet 46.

The device controlling the rudder bars forming the object of the presentinvention may be associated with any elevator and warping control meansand in particular with those disclosed in my copending applicationSerial No. 726,802, filed February 6, 1947. This association venables inparticular the construction of the armchair, including its controlmeans, as a single unit'adapted to be mounted directly in the flyingmachineand which may also be produced in mass production underparticularly economical manufacturing conditions.

What I claim is:

1. In a control device for a flying machine having at least a verticalcontrol surface,` a pilot seat comprising ak frame xedly mounted on theying machine and which carries a back-rest, a pair of rst supports onwhich respectively bear the under parts of the pilots thighs, saidsupports being independently pivoted on said frame around a commonhorizontal axis located under said back-rest and being respectivelyformed with substantial vertical and downwardly directed extensionswhich ac t as levers, a pair of second supports on which respectivelybear the pilots calves, said second supports being pivotally securedrespectively to the outer ends of said rst supports, foot-restsrespectively carried by the outer endsof the supports of said secondpair, guiding devices for guiding the outer ends of said last supportsalong lines which are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis ofthe flying machine, and bars pivotally mounted at the free ends of saidextensions, said bars being directed toward the back of the seat forconnecting said extensions with the vertical control surface, whereby apilot being seated on said seat and having his lower limbs supportedbysaid supports controls said vertical controlv surface by simultaneousdisplacements in reverse directions of the outer ends of the supports ofthe second pair under the action of corresponding movements of`his legs.4

2. In a control device for a flying machine having at least a verticalcontrol surface, a pilot seat comprising a frame xedly mounted on theflying mac'zhiney and which carries a back-rest, a pair of iirstsupports on which respectively bear the under'parts'of the pilotsthighs, said supports being independently pivoted on said frame around acommon horizontal axis located under said backrest and beingrespectively formed with substantial vertical and vdownwardlydirectedextensions which actas levers, a pair of second supports onwhich respectively bear the pilots calves, said second supports beingpivotally secured respectively to the outer ends of said first supports,cushions carried by said first and second supports, foot-restsrespectively 'carried by the outer ends of the supports of said secondpair, guiding devices for guiding the outer ends of said last supportsalong` lines which are substantially parallel to; the longitudinal `axisof the flying machine, and bars pivotally mounted at the free ends ofsaid extensions, said bars being directed toward the back'of the seatfor connecting said extensions with the vertical control surface,whereby a pilot being seated on said seat and having his lower limbssupported by said supports controls said vverticall control surface bysimultaneous displacements in reverse directions of the outer ends ofthe supports of the second pair under the actionV of correspondingmovements of his legs. i

' JACQUES ANDRE MARIE LECARME.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

